How some Men became Rulers
Around 3000 years ago, some men became recognised
as rajas by performing big sacrifices.
The Ashvamedha or horse sacrifice was one such ritual.
(1) A horse was let loose to wander freely and it was guarded
by the raja’s men.
(2) If the horse wandered into the kingdoms of other rajas and
they stopped it, they had to fight.
(3) If they allowed the horse to pass, it meant that they
accepted that the raja who wanted to perform the sacrifice was
stronger than them.
(4) These rajas were then invited to the sacrifice, which was
performed by specially trained priests, who were rewarded with
gifts.
(5) The raja who organised the sacrifice was recognised as
being very powerful, and all those who came brought gifts for
him. The raja was a central figure in these rituals. He often had
a special seat, a throne or a tiger skin.
(6) His charioteer, who was his companion in the battlefield
and witnessed his exploits, chanted tales of his glory. His
relatives, especially his wives and sons, had to perform a
variety of minor rituals.
(7) The other rajas were simply spectators who had to sit and
watch the performance of the sacrifice. Priests performed the
rituals including the sprinkling of sacred water on the king.
(8) The ordinary people, the vish or vaishya, also brought gifts.
However, some people, such as those who were regarded as
shudras by the priests, were excluded from many rituals.
Varnas
There were four social categories :
(1) Brahmins: Brahmins were expected to study (and teach)
the Vedas, perform sacrifices and receive gifts.
(2) Kshatriyas: Kshatriyas were expected to fight battles and
protect people.
(3) Vaishyas: Vaishyas were expected to be farmers, herders,
and traders
(4) Shudras: The Shudras were expected to serve the other
three groups.
Janapadas
The rajas who performed these big sacrifices were recognised
as being rajas of janapadas rather than janas.
The word janapada literally means the land where the jana set
its foot, and settled down.
Archaeologists have excavated a number of settlements in
these janapadas, such as Purana Qila in Delhi, Hastinapura
near Meerut, and Atranjikhera, near Etah (the last two are in
Uttar Pradesh).
(1) They found that people lived in huts, and kept cattle as well
as other animals.
(2) They also grew a variety of crops — rice, wheat, barley,
pulses, sugarcane, sesame and mustard.
(3) They made earthen pots. Some of these were grey in
colour, others were red.
(4) One special type of pottery found at these sites is known as
Painted Grey Ware. These grey pots had painted designs,
usually simple lines and geometric patterns.
Mahajanapadas
About 2500 years ago, some janapadas became more
important than others, and were known as mahajanapadas.
Most mahajanapadas had a capital city, many of these
were fortified.
(1) This means that huge walls of wood, brick or stone were
built around them.
(2) Forts were probably built because people were afraid of
attacks from other kings and needed protection.
(3) It is also likely that some rulers wanted to show how rich
and powerful they were by building really large, tall and
impressive walls around their cities.
(4) The land and the people living inside the fortified area could
be controlled more easily by the king.
Building such huge walls required a great deal of
planning
Thousands of bricks or stones had to be prepared. This in turn
meant enormous labour, provided, possibly, by thousands of
men, women and children. And resources had to be found for
all of this.
The new rajas now began maintaining armies. Soldiers were
paid regular salaries and maintained by the king throughout
the year. Some payments were probably made using punch
marked coins.
Taxes
As the rulers of the mahajanapadas were
(a) building huge forts
(b) maintaining big armies, they needed more resources.
And they needed officials to collect these. So, instead of
depending on occasional gifts brought by people, as in the case
of the raja of the janapadas, they started collecting regular
taxes.
(1)Taxes on crops were collected from peoples because most
people were farmers. Usually, the tax was fixed at 1/6th of
what was produced. This was known as bhaga or a share.
(2) There were taxes on crafts persons as well. These could
have been in the form of labour.
(3) Herders were also expected to pay taxes in the form of
animals and animal produce.
(4) There were also taxes on goods that were bought and sold
through the trade.
(5) Hunters and gatherers had to provide forest produce to the
raja.
